Congratluations to all who trained with effort and consistency across the five weeks of our April program. Special mention to our April award winners:

Wattle Park am

Spirit of Bootcamp – Sharon Olsen, Daphne Tan

Most improved – Adrian Godlee, Sharan Jassal

Encouragement/consistency – Brian Noone

Wattle Park pm

Spirit of Bootcamp – John Boyle, Con Tavlaridis

Encouragement – Annie Shannon

Fawkner Park

Spirit of Bootcamp – Angela Johnson

Most improved – Phil Anderson

Encouragement – Clare Regan

1. Rainy Day TV/Podcast – VEEP, I can watch that show over & over again and it’s always funny.
2. Pump Up Song – Don’t Stop me Now by Queen
3. Death Row last meal – Probably a classic meal that my grandmother would cook – such as Zucchini soup, followed by either a Lamb roast or silverside, and then pineapple upside-down cake for dessert, served with custard and ice cream.
4. Best piece of advice ever received – Get up and Get on with it.
5. In 2023 I am most looking forward to – My Grandmother’s 90th birthday
6. One thing people don’t know about you – I get a manicure every fortnight as I find it’s a great bit of ‘self care’. I can zone out for an hour, it’s relaxing and it fixes the callouses and rough skins on my hands from doing pushups in the grass.
7. Hidden talent – Charcuterie board presentation and birthday cake decorating (basically an edible extension of my job)
8. First car – 1984 Mitsubishi Colt, Current car – 2015 Renault Kangoo Van, Dream car – 1956 Eldorado Seville Coupe in Daphne Blue
9. Most inspration Living person – Bob Mackie (if you know you know)
10. First music concert – Big day Out 1999
11. Dream concert – I wish I could have seen Bette Midler in the height of her powers – the 1976 Depression Tour would have been a hoot to see live.
12. Advice for your 19 year old self – Life moves quickly, don’t waste your best years buried in work.
13. 5 people you’d invite to dinner (dead or alive) – Joan Rivers, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnette, Betty White and Gina Riley – should be quite the entertaining evening.
14. Book/movie everyone should read/see – 1984 or Handmaid’s Tale
15. If you could live anywhere in the world… – I’d like to give Florence a try (if only I were rich and could speak Italian)
16. If you had a superpower, what would it be – To freeze time.

Amid the determination to reach our goals for physical health, we often overlook the important role of recovery. For exercise to be of benefit in improving physical performance, training sessions must challenge our current limits and, in doing so, place our bodies under physical stress and strain. Recovery plays a vital role in allowing the muscles, joints and cardiovascular system to repair and adapt to these stresses, such that our long-term performance is enhanced. Recovery is crucial not only to optimizing performance and reducing injury risk, but in ensuring long-term participation.

During training, our muscles are subjected to microscopic damage and, as such, we must allow time between sessions for our muscles to repair and for our bodies to rebuild muscle tissue. Allowing time for the muscle adaptation process to occur will maximise gains in strength, endurance and overall fitness.  wellbeing.

What happens if I don’t recover well?

Neglecting recovery can hinder progress, increase the chance of injury and undermine your overall wellbeing.

Overtraining is a condition that can occur if we continue to push our bodies without allowing sufficient recovery. This condition leads to generalised fatigue, a decline in performance and a heightened risk of injury.  However, we can mitigate the risks of overtraining by incorporating planned recovery into our routine. At Original Bootcamp sessions, your instructors design programming to minimise the risks of overtraining. We do this by focussing on different muscle groups, movement patterns and energy systems in successive sessions and by periodizing the training load over the course of a month to ensure the sustainability of your training.  However, you also need to play a role in ensuring you are getting adequate recovery.

How can I incorporate recovery into my training routine?

Rest days, active recovery sessions and adequate sleep are all effective ways to help your body recover from intense exercise. Maintaining a healthy balance between stress and recovery is vital not only for repairing damaged tissue but for restoring energy levels and preventing mental and emotional burnout. As you no doubt experience for yourselves, engaging in regular exercise releases endorphins, reduces stress levels and improves mood. However, it too can lead to burnout if recovery is no factored into the equation. Allowing your mind and body time to recover, recharge and relax is vital to your overall wellbeing.

Intentionally integrating recovery into your exercise program is recommended for the best outcomes. Some suggestions for achieving this include:

1. Scheduling rest days where your body can fully recover
2. Vary workouts to avoid overuse injuries and provide active recovery for specific muscle groups (we do this for you with OBC sessions)
3. Prioritise sleep – essential restorative process are undertaken by the body when you sleep
4. Stay well hydrated and practice healthy eating habits to effectively refuel the body.
5. Stretching – the healing process can be quickened by increasing blood flow to the muscles through stretching
6. Massage – this is another effective means of promotong blood flow to the muscles which will aid recovery
7. Incorporate active recovery – low-intensity activities such as walking, swimming or gentle stretching assist with blood flow and aid recovery
8. Undertake activities for self care – a bath, reading, meditation, mindfulness, hobbies, etc. all play a crucial role in promoting not only mental but physical wellbeing as the two are intrinsically linked.

Don’t let recovery take a backseat to your training. Its role in promoting a healthier, fitter you is of equal value.

For those interesed in greater detail, the following reading is recommended:
https://www.gssiweb.org/sports-science-exchange/article/sse-120-recovery-techniques-for-athletes